Publication: Addressing China’s Water Scarcity
Date
2009-05
ISSN
Published
2009-05
Author(s)
Xie, Jian
Abstract
China's water resources are scarce
and unevenly distributed. It has the sixth largest amount of
renewable resources in the world, but a per capita
availability that is only one-fourth the world average and
among the lowest for a major country. The country is under
serious water stress, and its problems are made more severe
by the fact that resources are unevenly distributed, both
spatially and temporally. Per capita water availability in
northern China is less than one-fourth that in southern
China, one eleventh of the world average, and less than the
threshold level that defines water scarcity. A monsoonal
climate also means that China is subject to frequent
droughts and floods, often simultaneously in different
regions, as precipitation varies greatly from year to year
and season to season. The complexity of water resource
management in China requires a transition from a traditional
system with the government as the main decision making
entity toward a modern approach that relies on a sound legal
framework, effective institutional arrangements, transparent
decision making and information disclosure, and active
public participation. This will require that laws are
straightforward and not contradictory, with mechanisms and
procedures for enforcing them. It also should entail the
creation of a new multi-sectoral state agency tasked with
overseeing water management policy at the national level.
Citation
“Xie, Jian. 2009. Addressing China’s Water Scarcity. Water P-Notes; No. 37. © World Bank, Washington, DC. http://openknowledge.worldbank.org/entities/publication/887ce89b-54cf-5055-9465-5602c5a2430b License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.”